I think I make a fairly good salary, but we don't get any childcare benefits due to the VISA we're on, and so pay full price.

It makes me sad that we'll have to re-evaluate when we have #2. I'm fairly career driven and don't think I'd fair well as a SAHM (past my 1 year mat leave). But I could not handle working to lose 86% of my net salary with 2 kidsin LDC.

Upfront cost is about $600/week (2 kids). But every 3 months we get a few grand back. It's enough to make it worthwhile that DH and I both work. If it wasn't, we'd have to talk about who would stay home.

that really doesnt say much. If your friend is working 1 day a week, then thats not so bad?

If you are talking full time, then i really dont see how thats possible?

Lets say, as a worst possible case, she had 2 kids in full time long day care and qualifys for 0% CCB and only the 50% CCR and earns minimum wage.

2 kids in full time care with CCR is $750 a fortnight. Minimum wage is currently about $1200 a fortnight? So she must be getting more than $200 a fortnight take home.

Plus to qualify for no CCB, her partner would have to be earning a very high wage, in which case, why would she work full time at minimum wage?

If she WAS working full time at mimimum wage, and only getting $200, why would she bother? FTB part B is $130 a fortnight, and single income familys qualify for that, so for the sake of $70, wouldnt she just stay home? Unless her partner is earning over $150k a year and they dont qualify for FTB B, but if he was earning that much, would they really be struggling that bad that they need her to provide $100 a week?

I think your friend just likes a pity party personally and is trying to make her senario sound bad.

How is getting 50% back or $7000 covered by government 'horrendous'? Seems like a good deal to me.

Is 50% of the first 7000. For me that works out I get back 50% if I send Dd 3 days a week. If she was to go 4 or 5 days I'd be paying the full rate for those later days. It's not worth me returning to FT work because of this. I think Childcare costs should be fully tax deductible. The govt ultimately loses tax $ by only providing an incentive for parents to work part time.

Out of just my salary? For a total of 5 days of LDC (3 for DD1, 2 for DD2) its 18% of my salary.

I don't get any childcare benefit etc, but I do get the 50% child care rebate. I'm fortunate enough to be left with about $800 after childcare.

If I was left with any less I really wouldn't bother as I'd be better off working 3 days a week as I am very lucky and have family support on those days, so it would work out pretty much the same money in my pocket.

2 kids in full time care with CCR is $750 a fortnight. Minimum wage is currently about $1200 a fortnight? So she must be getting more than $200 a fortnight take home.

I dont think thats correct. 2 kids in full time LDC care would cost way more than $750 a fortnight. In metropolitan Sydney, average LDC day cost is $100. Given that CCR is capped at $7,500pa, this means that the 50% discount only applies to a maximum of 3 days and the 4th and 5th day would be the full price of $100. So thats $700 per week for 2 kids with CCR, or $1,400 per fortnight per CCR.

Even if you live in an area where daycare is much cheaper, if you have 2 kids in daycare 5 days I don't see how you would only pay $750 per fornight.

We start next year and I haven't worked out how much of net salary it will be.

LDC costs $110 per day, but that is $5 extra as we are doing a music class. I don't know what we will qualify for in terms of CCR and CCB but if it is too expensive I will pull her out when I am on mat leave.

I have a friend who makes $5000 per year after paying her nanny. She brings home $55000 after tax and the nanny is paid $50000. She moved to Melbourne in a hurry for her husband's job, got offered a good job herself, then couldn't get childcare anywhere.

She questions every day whether she is doing the right thing by working, I don't think I could live with the stress, not worth it for that amount of money.

At the moment, about 2/3rds of my net monthly pay goes to childcare (LDC 3 days per week, plus nanny 1 day per week). I expect that will drop once I can get an extra day at daycare, but had to pick up an extra day at work on short notice and no LDC days were available.

Love the nanny, but after rebate, one day of nanny is worth 3 days of LDC. On a purely financial basis, its prohibitive.

In spite of being in an almost constant state of motion while looking after the kids and trying to keep things together at home, it can seem as though parents have managed to get nothing on the to-do list done by the end of the day.

A French court may have ruled out Nutella as a baby name, but that doesn't have to stop you from taking inspiration from the supermarket (or bottle shop). See what parents in the US have chosen for their delicious little ones.